Dexter's Aimee Garcia Promoted To Series Regular For Season 8

The return of Dexter is just months away, which really doesn't feel like that far off at this point. While we wait to hear word of what's ahead for the serial killer, there's a bit of interesting news on the casting front. Aimee Garcia, who plays Jamie in the Showtime drama, has been promoted from recurring role to series regular for Season 8, which could end up being the final season for the series, though that's unconfirmed at this point.

Deadline shared the news, mentioning that production for Season 8 should get started soon, which is a good thing as the series is set to come back earlier than usual this year, with a June 30 premiere, to pair it with Showtime's new series Ray Donovan. Typically, the series airs in the fall.

Garcia's character Jamie fits into the show in a few ways. For one, she's the nanny of Dexter's son Harrison. She's also the sister of now-retired detective Batista. She also made the unfortunate choice to date creepy Louis, whom she later dumped when she learned he was cheating on her with at least one prostitute. Her bump to series regular could mean a couple of things. For speculation's sake, maybe it means we'll be seeing more of Harrison around this season. The mostly-mute but adorable toddler wasn't around much in Season 7 as I recall, though Jamie's involvement with Louis gave her an excuse to be on screen even if Harrison wasn't. And then there's Batista, who retired at the end of last season. Just because he's moved over to the restaurant business, doesn't mean he won't be around, right? I hope not. There's always the chance that (vague last-season spoiler ahead) he'll want to look into the death of a certain law enforcer whose body was still warm when Season 7 wrapped up. Jamie's ties to Angel could factor into that somehow (especially if Batista suspects Dexter!). We can really only guess right now. But her upbeat personalty and affection for Harrison have made Garcia's character a breath of fresh air on the show, so - at the very least - it's good news to hear she'll be around a bit more.